Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Tens on Tuesday!

Welcome back after a beautiful fall long weekend!
Time to get crack-a-lacking with our first meeting of the week, and Giorgia is our new math meeting helper! She clearly had her meeting under control, with calendar math, days in school, and counting money!
Well done Giorgia! What followed in math was this idea of counting tens and making combinations of tens that equal 100.
But, how to figure that all out.... how about an organized list!
Having organization in our thinking can help us think clearly and purposefully, and that's just what we did today.
Paying close attention to all the combinations (and patterns) when you organize your thinking can help us be better thinkers and better workers! Being organized... always a good strategy when thinking about math!!!
In reading workshop we had our last day of buddy reading with Christopher Columbus books. Students were able to choose their reading and read and conference with a buddy.
Next, it was time to write about our reading.
We thought about what we know about Mr. Columbus, his voyage, life in his time, and how we feel and think about him.
When your thinking about your reading... you're always learning! Well done second graders!!
This afternoon we started writing workshop by talking about what writers write about. Writers don't write just any-old stories, they write meaningful stories... stories about things that matter to them!!
Real writers write from their "head" (about things they know)... and from their "heart" (about things that evoke strong feelings)! And that's just what we did today... thinking of yourself as a storyteller and writing about important moments that have meaning. Now that's living a writer's life!
Stephanie bravely shared her story (and her writing experience) today in author's share. She admitted she was stuck, not knowing what to write about. After some careful discussion, Stephanie realized that she cares deeply about where she used to live... the playground there... and friends left behind when a family moves to a new place. WOW Stephanie! Way to connect with a meaningful story and writing about your life!!! More tomorrow writers!